Not until January will a verdict be released after Flavio Briatore went before French courts on Tuesday. The Italian, former Managing Director of the Renault team, is attempting to overturn the FIA-imposed ban which currently sees him removed from Formula 1 for life for his part in the Singapore 2008 'Crashgate' race-fixing scandal.

With 59-year-old Briatore expelled from F1 and indeed any other FIA motorsport championship for being judged to have masterminded the scheme which resulted in Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashing in the sport's first ever night race, French courts heard the ex team boss' story on Tuesday.

Following the hearing, Reuters reports that no outcome will be released until the New Year, with Tuesday 5 January being pinpointed as the exact date - incidentally, exactly six weeks on from today. Briatore, who believes that the Paris-based FIA arranged secret meetings prior to handing out his ban, is also requesting €1m (£900,000) in compensation for moral prejudice.

"My client only aims to be able to do what he wants and to recover his freedom," Philippe Ouakrat, lawyer to Briatore, commented prior to Tuesday's session.

The January conclusion to the saga will also have implications for the Football League in the United Kingdom, with its 'Fit and Proper' rule being able to throw Briatore out of his ownership of Queens Park Rangers - due to having received a ban from a sporting governing body - should the FIA punishment not be overruled.